Methods, sources and help

Estimate Korean monthly take-home pay

The English home form uses the same 2026 simplified regular-employee calculation as the Korean home page. Gross annual salary is divided by twelve, then modeled employee insurance, national income tax from the official simplified withholding table and local income tax (10% of national tax) are subtracted. Non-taxable pay is already included in the gross amount.

The model uses the current July 2026 pension income limits for each modeled month. A real full-year pension statement can use different limits in January–June. The withholding table already reflects the earned-income deduction, basic deductions, a pension deduction, part of the special deductions and the earned-income tax credit, and the table's reduction for eligible children is applied; year-end deductions and credits are omitted.

It assumes standard insurance coverage and ordinary resident progressive taxation. Nationality, visa, age, treaties, non-resident rules and foreign-worker flat-tax eligibility are not inferred from these four inputs. The displayed national tax is the official monthly withholding-table amount for the modeled pay, not a year-end settlement result or refund.

• NPS contribution rates (Korean)
• NTS English tax-year guides — confirm the income year and personal eligibility.
• English insurance guide with rate sources

Compare Korean income-tax methods

The foreign-employee flat rate is 19% national income tax. Adding local income tax at 10% of national tax gives a combined 20.9% model. The progressive comparison uses the 2026 national brackets, the earned-income deduction, the employee's KRW 1.5 million basic deduction, entered deductible contributions and the earned-income tax credit.

• Confirm your first date of work in Korea. Current law requires that first work to start by 31 December 2026 and limits the applicable period to 20 years from that date.
• Confirm eligible foreign-employee status and related-enterprise restrictions. Daily workers are excluded; certain headquarters exceptions exist.
• Check the remuneration base with payroll. Generally, exemptions, deductions and credits used under the progressive method do not apply to the flat method, but the statute contains an exception for specified benefits.
• The calculator assumes a resident employee for its limited progressive model. It omits non-resident and treaty rules, dependent deductions, rent, standard and other special credits. Their effect can change the comparison.
• Social insurance is separate from income tax. Use your actual eligible contributions, not an assumed universal percentage. A final refund also needs withholding and the complete tax calculation.

An election requires the prescribed application; the tool does not submit one. Do not infer eligibility or choose a method from the displayed difference alone.

Changing jobs or preparing a settlement? Use the pay and tax checklist to distinguish the income year, payment date and filing step.

Convert gross salary, not living standards

Annual foreign-currency amount = annual KRW salary divided by the entered KRW-per-unit rate. Monthly amount = annual amount divided by twelve. For example, KRW 60,000,000 at an assumed KRW 1,250 per USD gives USD 48,000 annually and USD 4,000 monthly.

Example rates are editable and are not live market data. Use one yen, not 100 yen, for JPY. The results exclude taxes, insurance, conversion fees and bank spreads. They do not compare city housing costs, purchasing power, benefits or overseas tax systems.

Check payroll and insurance separately

Ask payroll for gross salary, exempt items, employee contributions, withheld national tax and local tax as separate lines. Foreign-worker insurance coverage can depend on nationality, visa and social-security agreements. An income-tax election does not itself settle insurance coverage.

• National Pension Service (English)
• National Health Insurance Service (English)
• Read the English insurance overview

General planning tools and currency labels

Loan, savings, gross pay, offer and everyday-cost tools use the values and assumptions you enter. Their currency selector changes display and rounding; it does not fetch exchange rates, calculate foreign tax or convert existing inputs. Use one currency throughout a scenario.

Each tool states its formula, contribution or payment timing, exclusions and worked example. Constant returns and withdrawal rates are assumptions, not forecasts. A scheduled loan payment is not lender approval. The work-time tool uses the spendable hourly pay you supply rather than deriving a country's take-home wage.

The calculator overview separates payroll, tax and general arithmetic. The English guides explain the documents and assumptions to check before using those results.

The terms of use explain the limits of these reference estimates and the conditions for quoting site content.

Your inputs and support

These English calculators run their arithmetic in your browser. Our calculator interaction events identify the tool and interaction stage; they do not include the salary, family counts, exchange rate or tax result you enter here. Site advertising, analytics and hosting services can still process browser, page and connection information.

If you choose to share a result elsewhere on the site, review the shared text, link or image for personal details. Do not include salary details, account numbers or identity documents in a support message.

Saving a Korean take-home estimate is optional and stores its inputs and results in this browser. English saved estimates use a separate model and currency namespace from Korean dashboard data. Review and delete saved estimates on My dashboard; browser storage is not a cloud backup.

Read the privacy policy for the data handling described here. About Moneysalary explains who maintains the methods and reviews corrections.